Pliers

ABSTRACT

A LOCK PLIERS HAS AN ELONGATE LOCK ENGAGING ELEMENT AFFIXED TO THE END OF ONE HANDLE TO EXTEND ANGULARLY THEREFROM. THE LOCK ENGAGING ELEMENT PROJECTS THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE ADJACENT END OF THE OTHER HANDLE. AN APERTURED LOCKING MEMBER IS MOUNTED ON AN EXTENSION OF THE APERTURED HANDLE AND IS SPRING URGED IN A LOCKING DIRECTION. THE LOCK ENGAGING ELEMENT PROJECTS THROUGH AND IS ENGAGED BY THE LOCKING ELEMENT, AND IS RELEASABLY LOCKED THEREBY.

Sept 28 1971 w. l.. sARvIE 3,608,404

l PLIEns -S est 1 Original Filed Nov. 1'7, 1966 2 Sheets h l I u..

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Sept. 28, 1971 w. l.. sARvlE 3,608,404

PLIERS Original Filed Nov. 17, 1966 2 Sheets-Shnt 2 NVE/vm@ MNRAS/wwf im0M y United States Patent O 3,608,404 PLIERS Walter L. Sarvie, RR. 3,Alexandria, Minn. 56308 Original application Nov. 17, 1966, Ser. No.595,107,

now Patent No. 3,442,159. Divided and this application Jan. 2, 1969,Ser. No. 788,521

Int. Cl. B251) 7/14 U.S. Cl. 81-323 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThis is a divisional application of my copending application, Ser. No.595,107, filed Nov. 17, 1966, now Patent No. 3,442,159, entitled Methodof Making Pliers.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Heretofore, hand tools and specifically pliers havebeen conventionally made through forging and the use of hightemperatures in a forging operation results in a change in thecrystalline structure of the metal. The metal of forged tools in someinstances has therefore been found to fail when subjected to certainstrains and stresses. Further, tool forging operations are not only timeconsuming but are also quite expensive.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a novelprocess for forming pliers through a stamping and shaping operationwherein conventional pliers are continuously stamped from a blank ofmaterial in a manner to minimize wasting material. When pliers having alocking mechanism assOciated therewith are produced, the two respectivehandle members of the pliers are of somewhat different configurationfrom each other. In the present process, a pair of one kind of handlemembers is simultaneously stamped from a blank of material and eachhandle member is thereafter shaped to the desired configuration. Thepresent operation not only can be carried out in a relatively rapidmanner, but in the present process, the pliers may be produced so thatthere is very little waste material which results from the stamping andshaping operation. It is further pointed out that the particular lockingpliers, produced in accordance with the novel process, also includes aself-aligning locking feature which is operable to prevent undesirablebinding of the locking means of the pliers.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is adiagrammatic illustration showing the pattern of how one of the parts ofthe pliers are stamped from a blank of material;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the pattern followed instamping the other part of the pliers;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the parts illustrating afurther shaping step;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the part illustrated in FIG. 3;

Fice

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the part illustrated in FIG. 2 butafter having been subjected to an additional shaping and forming step;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the part illustrated in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan View of the locking member of one embodiment of pliersmade in accordance with the present process;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the locking member;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the assembledpliers made in accordance with the present process;

FIG. 10 is a detailed cross-sectional View of the locking mechanismillustrating the interrelation of certain parts thereof;

FIG. 11 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the locking mechanismillustrating the coaction of the locking member and the lock engagingmember;

FIG. 12 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating the coaction andinterrelation of the locking member and one of the handle members; and

FIG. 13 is a detailed cross-sectional view similar to IG. 12 butillustrating a modified form of the locking mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings andmore specifically to FIG. 9, it will be seen that one embodiment of thepliers made in accordance with the present process is there shown and isdesignated generally by the reference numeral 10. The particular pliersshown are of the locking type whereby the jaws of the pliers may belocked in predetermined relation, the pliers including certain novelfeatures with respect to the locking mechanism. The pliers 10 include anelongate handle member 11 having an offset jaw portion 12 integrallyformed at one end thereof, the jaw portion 12 having teeth 13 formed atthe gripping face thereof. The pliers 10 also include handle member 14which is of different configuration from the handle member 11, andhandle member 14 also includes a jaw portion 15 integrally formed at oneend thereof which is provided with teeth 16 disposed in opposed relationwith respect to teeth 13. The handle member 11 is provided with anaperture 11a adjacent the jaw portion thereof, as best seen in FIG. 5,while handle member 14 is also provided with an aperture 14a therein asbest seen in FIG. 3. A nut and bolt assembly 17 pivotally connects thehandle members together in a well known manner.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the handle member 14includes a hand grip portion 18 which has a knurled gripping surface andan elongate curved look engaging element 19 is integrally formed withthe handle member 14 adjacent the ends of the hand grip portion.Similarly, the handle member .11 has an enlarged hand grlp portion 20having a knurled surface thereon and an offset portion 21 is integrallyformed with the handle member 11. Referring again to FIGS. 5 and 6, itwill be noted that the handle member 11 is provided with an aperture 23therethrough adjacent the knurled hand grip 20 thereof and that theoffset portion 21 also has an opening 2'4 therein. The opening 23 issubstantially circular while the opening 24 is elongate in a transversedlrection with respect to the offset portion 21. It will be noted, asbest seen in FIGS. 4 and 6, that the jaw portions of each of the handlemembers have relatively large width and thickness dimensions as comparedto that part of the respective handle member located next adjacent thejaw portion.

The locking means of the pliers 10 includes a locking member 25 which inthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-12, is formed of flat metallic materialand comprised of an enlarged median portion 26, a lower portion 27,

and an upper portion 28 which defines the handle of the locking member.The lower portion 27 of the locking member projects through the opening24 in the offset portion 21, the lower end of the lower portion 27 beingslightly expanded to prevent disengagement of the looking member fromthe opening 24. The enlarged median portion 26 of the looking member isprovided with an aperture 29 which is also of substantially circularconfiguration and through which the lock engaging element 19 projects. Acoil spring 30y is interposed between the handle member 11 and medianportion 26 of the locking member 25 and normally urges the latteroutwardly and away from the handle member 11 and towards the handlemember 14. It will be noted that the lock engaging element 19 has -anarcuate upper surface 19a and a lower arcuate portion 19b.

It will be seen that one relatively sharp arcuate edge portion 29a ofthe locking member 25 defined by the opening 29 engages the arcuatesurface 19a of the lock engaging element 19 while another relativelysharp arcuate portion 29b of the locking member engages the arcuatesurface 19b of the look engaging element. It will be noted thatsharpened arcuate surfaces 29a and 29b are axially spaced from eachother. When these arcuate portions 29a and 29b engage the opposedsurfaces 19a and 19b of the look engaging element, the respective handlemembers will be locked in predetermined relation with respect to eachother. The locking surface 29a being spaced further away fromI thefulcrum 21 is subjected to less pressure than surface 29b. The lockingmember 25 is maintained in this relationship by the coil spring 30. Inorder to unlock the looking member 25, it is merely necessary to urgethe upper portion 28 of the locking member towards the handle member|11. By having oppositely disposed sharpened locking surfaces on thelocking member 25, the locking member will maintain its effectivelocking position with respect to locking engaging members.

In order to assure that the lock engaging element 19 may pass throughthe opening 29 of the looking member 25 and in order to preventunnecessary binding of the handle members 11 and 14, and accidentalunlocking of these handle members, the locking member is supported inthe apertured offset portion 21 to permit not only laterally swinging ofthe locking member but also permitting limited turning or twistingmovement about its longitudinal axis as well as slight longitudinalranslation. The rotation of twisting movement of the locking member 25about its longitudinal axis with respect to the offset portion 21 ismade possible by making one of the coacting surfaces on the offsetportion 21 and locking member 25 slightly cocave. In the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 12, the surface 27a on the locking member is convex so that aslight rocking action may take place between this convex surface and thecoacting surface on the offset portion 22 defined by the opening 24.However, in FIG. 13, one of the edges which defines the opening 24b isnot straight but is of inwardly convex configuration to define a point24C that is engaged by the at lower portion 27b of the looking member.These coacting surfaces permit the locking member to rock slightly aboutits longitudinal axis.

In carrying out the novel process for stamping and forming therespective handle members of the pliers, reference is now made to FIG. lwherein it will be seen that the handle members 14 are stamped from ablank of material B. `In each downward stroke of the stamping dies, apair of the handle members 14 are simultaneously stamped from the blankB, each adjacent pair being arranged in opposite extending directionwith respect to each other. At least a portion of adjacent handlemembers 14 have a common surface so that the only waste material whichresults from the samping action is that designated W and which islocated between the end portion of the handle members. Similarly, thehandle members 111 are stamped from a blank C wherein each handle memberis arranged in opposite extending direction to the next 4 adjacenthandle member 11. The handle members 11 are stamped in pairs thusobviating the necessity of turning the blank C or requiring returning ofthe dies so that the stamping operation which results in the stamping ofthe handle members 1,1 and 14 may be carried out in the continuousmanner. It will be noted too that as in the case of the stampingoperation involving the handle members 114, the stamping of the handlemembers 11 involves a minimum amount of waste since one surface of eachhandle member constitutes a mating surface of the next adjacent handlemember. It will be noted that this common mating surface area ofadjacent handle members extends thorughout a major portion of therespective lengths of the handle members 11 and 14. It becomes quiteapparent then that the waste produced by the stamping operation is onlythat material located between adjacent jaw portions of the handlemembers.

In most stamping operations it has been found that each part to bestamped ordinarily is spaced from the next adjacent part to be stampedby a distance corresponding to the thickness of the blank from which thearticles are formed. However, by following the process steps set forthhereinabove, it is unnecessary to make such a spacing and not only maythe stamping operation be carried out with a minimum of waste but thesimultaneous stamping of identical pairs of handle members may beperformed in a continuous line operation.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the particularconfiguration of the general portions of each of the handle members thatis produced from the stamping operation has a different configurationfrom that of the completed and finished pliers. To this end it will benoted that the thickness dimension of the handle members 11 and 14corresponds, of course, to the thickness dimension of the blank B whilethe thickness dimension of the handle members 11 corresponds to thethickness of the blank C. The respective width dimension of the jawportions of each of the handle members is substantially greater than thethickness dimension of the blank from which the handles were stamped.The apertures 11a and 14a in the handle members 11 and 14 respectively,are formed or punched during this initial stamping step. The aperture 23is also punched in this rst stamping step.

When the jaw portions are subjected to a further shaping operationwherein the metal is simultaneously compressed and coined to form thejaws 15 having teeth 16, it is unnecessary to trim any material fromthese jaws as they are ultimately shaped into their final form. Duringthe shaping of the jaw 15 and the coining of teeth 16, the hand gripportion 18 is also formed and is knurled. A lock engaging element 19 isalso bent into its curved configuration as shown in FIG. 3 and therespective arcuate crosssectional portions 19a and 19b are also formedduring this shaping operation.

Similarly, with respect to the handle member 11, as the jaw portionsthereof increase with respect to their thickness dimension during thesecond or shaping operation, the teeth 13 arealso simultaneously coinedduring this shaping operation. The handle portion 20 and the knurlingthereon are formed during this operation. The offset portion 21 issimultaneously formed during the shaping of the jaw portion and handleportion of the handle member 11. After the handle members 11 and 14 arecompletely formed, these members may then be subjected to heat treatmentin a well known manner and these handle members may also be plated witha chrome plating if desired. Thereafter the handle members are pivotallyconnected together by the nut and bolt assembly 17.

It will be noted that in producing pliers by my novel method, the wastematerial normally attendant in the stamping of parts having irregularshaped peripheries is minimized, the only waste material being locatedbetween adjacent stamped handle members at the jaw end portion thereof.Since the major length of the handle member when rst stamped from theblank of material constitutes a common mating surface with the nextadjacent handle member, one edge of the blank will normally define oneof the longitudinal surface portions of the next handle member to bestamped. In conventional stamping operations, it is necessary to spaceeach stamping apart a distance corresponding to at least the thicknessdimension of the blank.

By simultaneously stamping a pair of one kind of handle member from asingle Iblank of material, the necessity of turning the die oralternatively turning the blank of material to minimize the waste isobviated. Assuming pliers could be stamped by following the steps ofconventional stamping procedures, my process requires approximately halfthe time needed as compared to a conventional stamping operation. Thelife of the stamping dies is also substantially increased as comparedwith the dies in a conventional stamping operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided anovel process of making pliers which process involves stamping andshaping the handle members of the pliers from a blank of material, andtherefore not only minimizing the waste material produced by such anoperation, but also involves a process than can be very economiclly andrapidly carried out.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may =be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A locking mechanism for a pliers type tool having a pair of handles,comprising an end portion on one handle having an aperture therein, acurved shank on the end of the other handle extending through saidaperture, and Oifset mounting portion integral with said one end portionand extending laterally therefrom, said mounting portion having anopening therein, an elongate latch plate mounted on said mountingportion and projecting through the aperture in the latter, said latchplate and the opening in said mounting portion defining coactingengaging surfaces, one of said surfaces being flat and the other of saidsurfaces being convex to define a fulcrum, to thereby permit said latchplate to be tilted towards and away from said handle about the fulcrum,and said latch plate also being revolvable about its longitudinal axison the fulcrum, said opening in the mounting portion having a widthdimension slightly larger than the width dimension of that portion ofthe latch plate which extends through the opening to permit shiftingmovement of the latch plate in a lateral direction, said latch platehaving an arcuate opening therethrough for receiving said shank andgripping said shank when the latch plate is tilted in one direction,opposite arcuate edge portions defined by said opening in the latchplate being sharpened and axially spaced apart and engaging opposedsurfaces of the shank to grip the latter, and a spring element engagingsaid one handle and said latch plate to urge said latch plate to atilted shank gripping position.

2. The locking mechanism for a pliers type tool as .delined in claim 1wherein said latch plate has the coacting convex surface engaging andcoacting with the coacting at surface delined by the opening in saidmounting portion thereby permitting the revolving movement of the latchplate about a longitudinal axis.

3. The locking mechanism for a pliers type tool as dened in claim 1wherein the opening in the mounting presents an inwardly projectingconvex surface which engages and coacts with a at surface on the latchplate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,761 12/1953 Sarvie 81-3233,313,190 4/1967 Bothum 81-323 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner

